Rejecting claims that the devil commanded a murder defendant to “do it,” a jury returned a swift guilty verdict Tuesday in the trial of a Cliffside Park man charged with bludgeoning an 88-year-old World War II veteran in his Fairview home.

Jurors deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Edwin Estrada guilty on all counts in the death of Vincent Leuzzi, whose head was repeatedly pummeled with a sauce pan during a burglary and robbery four years ago.

Estrada, 22, a military high school drop out who had become a heavy drug user, showed no emotion as the forewoman announced the verdict in a Hackensack courtroom ringed by more than a dozen sheriff’s officers.

Afterward, Leuzzi’s stepdaughter, Filomena Mazzone, expressed her gratitude. “On behalf of the family, we appreciate the jury’s quest for justice,” she said. “Vincent was a kind, loving man and should not have died in such a violent manner. We’ll miss him for the rest of our lives.” Mazzone and other relatives sat through the month-long trial.

Estrada had pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter charges in the case last year in exchange for a maximum prison term of 27 years. But the deal was vacated after Leuzzi’s relatives objected that he would not be sufficiently punished.

He now faces a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison. “Some people felt the plea bargain was too lenient,” while others didn’t, but “the family was united” in the decision to have a trial, Mazzone said. “The fact that he was found guilty by a jury of 12 independent peers … makes us all feel wonderful. The sentencing is up to the judge, and the family will respect and honor whatever the judge says,” she said.

Leuzzi, a retired mason and bricklayer, apparently had been dozing in front of the television when Estrada entered his modest second-floor apartment on the evening of July 15, 2010.

Estrada testified he smoked marijuana and PCP, a hallucinogen, in the Leuzzi’s bathroom, then became paranoid. Fearing Leuzzi might have a gun, Estrada grabbed a pot from the kitchen and began hitting him, he said. Estrada claimed he blacked out after delivering several blows, and when he later awoke he saw Leuzzi lying in a pool of blood.

He stole Leuzzi’s wallet and a credit card, which he later used in New York City to buy food and clothing.

Leuzzi died nine days later of blunt force trauma caused by at least nine blows, some so forceful they caused multiple fractures and depressions in his skull.

The jury found Estrada guilty of murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, conspiring with the victim’s grandson to commit burglary, possession of a weapon, and theft of a credit card.

Estrada’s attorney, John Pieroni, had argued that Estrada’s use of mind-bending drugs, coupled with an underlying psychiatric disorder, left him with diminished capacity and unable to form the requisite state of mind to be found guilty of murder.

Psychiatrists for the defense and the prosecution disagreed over whether Estrada suffered from bipolar disorder. The prosecution’s expert testified he believed Estrada had made up the claim that he was in the devil’s grip.

“I tend to agree with the state’s psychiatrist that it was a manipulation and not true,” Mazzone said on Tuesday. After the murder, she said, Estrada had the clarity of mind to call a friend, go shopping, go to dinner and “get out of town.”

By finding that Estrada “knowingly or purposely murdered” Leuzzi, the jury rejected the defense arguments.

“I’m greatly disappointed,” Pieroni said after the verdict. “It’s clear that the jurors did not in my opinion properly consider the psychiatric testimony as to diminished capacity,” he said.

He said the appeal process will likely take several years.

“While I realize that this was a complex and complicated case, I truly believe that my client, based on his history of psychiatric disorder and his extreme drug abuse, should not have been found guilty of these charges,” Pieroni said.

At the request of Assistant Prosecutor John Higgins, Superior Court Judge Edward Jerejian revoked Estrada’s bail and remanded him back to the Bergen County Jail where he has spent the last four years. Sentencing was set for Sept. 26.

“We are very grateful for the commitment and hard work that the jury gave to this case and we’re happy for a grieving family,” Higgins said.